Understand the Spade

Richard Caldwell discusses different spade mouthpieces and how they work on
the pressure points of a horse's mouth.

[@dreaming-of-spots6805]

Spades are the western equivalent of a double bridle- it shows off how well-broke the horse is and allows for extremely light, subtle cues. It also should only ever be used on an extremely well-broke, well-trained horse that's capable of proper self-carriage bitless/bridleless and goes around quietly. They do not harm the horse in the slightest (with the exception of horses who have very low palettes, which does sometimes happen!) when used properly by a good rider. Any piece of equipment that goes on a horse's face has the potential to do harm though- you can cause severe facial damage with a hackamore, or make a horse's mouth sore and rough with a plain smooth snaffle. It's just easier to mess up with this one because of how big of a bit it is.

[@shawnaweesner3759]

RyanLovesKiddo Since the horse can go bit less, and is well trained, why use a bit at all? THERE IS NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO CHOOSE NOT TO SEE!

[@mollybelmont182]

Yeah so why would you risk using such a huge bit.

[@remedyfarm]

Excellent video. Thanks for the education. Good spades can be pricey if you want to try a few before you decide on one that works best for you and your horse. Maybe there is a business opportunity for someone who would rent them out to folks who'd like to try a couple before they buy one...?

[@sonseere10]

You need to work on your critical eye.

[@remountsequine1031]

Its mostly in the rider's hands. Spade bit, bosal, snaffle, no matter its how you use your hands and how to teach your horse how you want them to feel and perform under you. I personally despise mechanical hackmores. So many think their easy and humane... its NOT. It only does one thing that I can see... it crushes their face. But again, its how you use your hands. By the way, what breed is Chinaco?

[@chelackie]

Beautiful pieces of equipment in the right hands.Are there any videos on the making of these bits ?

[@sonseere10]

Don't be suckered in to the use of such nonsense.

[@shawnaweesner3759]

Rachel Mackie Another cruel woman, I see. Enthralled with the power and control these devices of torture give her over a beautiful, free horse! Excuse me while I go vomit!

[@robgriz72]

@@shawnaweesner3759 🤣🤣🤣🤣drama queen

[@crystalnaylor7124]

I'm more impressed with less is more... show me a bridleless rider, now that's skill.

[@sonseere10]

You are so correct. This Vaquero tradition of going from different sizes of hackamore and 'graduating' to a spade bit is ridiculous. They are so obsessed with tradition, they do not realize a higher level of horsemanship is obtained with using less.

[@shawnaweesner3759]

Crystal Naylor Thank you for standing up for excellent horsemanship skills, and helping the horse!

[@sonseere10]

If a person is a highly skilled horseman, that person would never use a spade bit or a bit of any kind.

[@shawnaweesner3759]

sonseere10 Absolutely TRUE!

[@h.e.7159]

Spades are horrible! They cause damage to a horses tongue and roof of the mouth. A good rider doesn't need such a harsh bit and these are dangerous in an inexperienced persons hands. Horses give to pressure, it doesn't need to be painful or strong to get them to give.

[@nmelkhunter1]

***** Well said.

[@lefleurgolf1380]

+H. E. (NoMirth) They're only used on finished horses with 5+ years of training. Spade bits use slight cues and vibrations from the rider. Spades aren't harsh IF USED CORRECTLY. Only trained professional riders use these bits on well trained horses. It's not exactly used in everyday lessons. You don't have to worry about inexperienced hands using a spade bit.

[@sonseere10]

If they claim to be so skilled, then they should use less to get more.

[@turkeyburglarjones6148]

sonseere10 you can be lighter with a spade than you can a snaffle. You're literally in all but one comment, seems like you're obsessing over this.

[@gerrycoleman7290]

Turkey-----One can be lighter with a rope halter or neck rope, or nothing, than a spade.

[@meganplenderleith4188]

Disgusting!!! That has no buisness being in a horse's mouth! It looks like somethign straight out of saw. Shame on you.

[@reidbankert4425]

You don’t just slap it in a horses mouth and rip em around with it. There’s a process that usually takes 4-5 years to make sure that they are ready for the bit. The bit isn’t bad, it’s how people use it.

[@shawnaweesner3759]

Megan Plenderleith Yeah!!! Horses everywhere thank you!

[@robgriz72]

@@shawnaweesner3759 lots of horses with KZbin?

[@mollybelmont182]

Reid Bankert If they slowly get worked up to this thru less harsh bits why do you just get harsher and harsher it’s gross just another way to spoil a horses mouth bits like these cut and bruise

[@jvillalobos363]

👎🏾

[@shawnaweesner3759]

jose villalobos 🥰

[@sidineibergamini1894]

Meu Deus nunca use isso se vc ama os animais

[@mollybelmont182]

This is disgusting shit, I wouldn’t let that near any horse I know, there’s no need. I swear you western people think you need huge bits and huge spurs?! CHOSE ONE (or preferably none) why can u just use a snaffle like the rest of us, and try some soft tough roller spurs instead

[@slrdf1758]

Because we don’t have stiff bricks need full contact on the reins like y’all do. We don’t even need to use the reins to even spin the horse or to turn. Comparing a spade and a snaffle is like comparing a tricycle and a professional bmx bike, you just can’t compare the two because they’re levels of horsemanship that are faaaaaarrrrrrr apart from each other. Just like a tricycle is for a very inexperienced user like the snaffle is, the spade is like a bmx bike or a dirt bike where the user needs to be experienced and well prepared.

[@mollybelmont182]

If a snaffle works why wouldn’t you use a snaffle instead of a hash bit. If you don’t need to touch you reins to do anything then I’m sure a snaffle would work just fine.

[@slrdf1758]

@@mollybelmont182 If you tried to do the same thing the spade bit does on a bridle horse with a snaffle, then you’d get nowhere. A snaffle isn’t even apt for neck reining, let alone submitting the signals needed for the horse to do anything. The snaffle only responds well to full contact signals with the reins, which is an obstacle if you need to rope. Another thing is that the snaffle pulls down on the horses tongue and only uses the mouth as a point of contact and support. The spade however mimics the bosal, where if there is contact on one side of the horses face, then the horse will respond to that side of the signal, it’s an indirect signal, and doesn’t use the mouth as a point of contact, but rather the whole face of the horse which is why we bend them at the poll when they’re green. Also, if you think the spade is harsh, could you explain how the spade works according to you? The bit itself only responds to light movements of the rein and the position of the rider, so I’d like to know why you think it’s a harsh bit. Because we don’t just ride with two hands and grab each rein to tell the horse where to go.

[@mollybelmont182]

Neck reining is supposed to be a horse moving off the pressure on its neck.

[@mollybelmont182]

We don’t grab at our reins a good English ride keeps steady gentle support. A rubber snaffle is enough to guide horses and ponies I’ve ridden over three foot jumps so I don’t see why you need a huge peice of junk in your horses mouth

[@shawnaweesner3759]

The man who is talking in this video and showing how to use these painful bits is NOT a HORSEMAN! I would say he is showing abusive ways to cause pain to horses so he can feel like a man! Disgusting!